Everything you need to know about bladder leakage

Bladder leakage and urinary incontinence are incredibly common conditions, and not just among women recovering after childbirth.

From a medical perspective, bladder leakage occurs when your weakened muscles can no longer support your bladder and constrict the urethra properly. Your bladder falls slightly, pushing against your vagina and taking pressure. Then, the same weakened muscles fail to close off your urethra and prevent the flow of urine from your bladder.

If you’re struggling with urinary incontinence you are in good company – approximately one in five women will experience some level of incontinence or leakage, and the number rises to one in three among women who have had children.

Needless to say, a mother’s body undergoes a great deal of change and trauma throughout both pregnancy and childbirth. After having been stretched and pressed against to support a growing child, the pelvic floor is then tasked with allowing a grown baby to pass through it, and with pushing him or her into the world.

Even women delivering via caesarean section are not in the clear, research shows that the risk of incontinence remains.

Despite the variety of leakage protection products on the market, there is one adult-nappy-free solution that helps to treat the problem at its source – enter pelvic floor muscle exercises.

Controlling leakage with pelvic floor muscles

Your pelvic floor is a set of muscles that stretch between the front of your pelvic bone and your tailbone, keeping your abdominal organs in their proper place. These muscles are in direct control of your bladder, rectum, small intestine, and uterus.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises – or PFME – are one of the most effective ways to regain significant bladder control.

Often referred to as Kegel exercises (or simply “Kegels”), these exercises target and tone the muscles of your pelvic floor that control the flow of urine. Regularly perform these bladder control exercises and you’ll likely find yourself regaining control.

Your 3 step pelvic floor routine

Identify where the muscles are that you would use to start/stop your urine midstream.

Tighten those muscles as though you are stopping the flow of urine. Hold them tight for three seconds, then release.

Repeat 10-15 times per session for three or more sessions per day. Add an additional second of hold time each week.

The 6 benefits of regular pelvic exercise

1. It may speed post-partum recovery: Just as light exercise can help to speed recovery after a broken leg, doing pelvic floor muscle exercises is thought to have a beneficial effect on the speed of recovery after childbirth.

2. Easier future childbirth: By strengthening your pelvic muscles between children, you can have an easier delivery next time (due to an improved ability to “push”).

3. Reduction in back pain: Because your pelvic floor muscles are connected to your tailbone and support all of the lower abdomen, better muscle tone also means better lower back support and reduced incidence of back pain.

4. Easier evacuation: The ability to “push” isn’t just used for childbirth, of course. Improvement of pelvic floor muscle function can also help the body evacuate solid waste more easily.

5. Better sex: This is easily everyone’s favourite benefit. Since these muscles are directly related to the function of the sexual organs, toning them up can take romantic rendezvous to the next level for both partners.

6. Reduced risk of future age-related incontinence: Doing pelvic exercises from child-bearing years and beyond can help to prevent the risk of urinary incontinence the more mature you are.